Below: A photo of the actual aircraft L100-20 C-FPWK “Kilo” No. 386 which was one of six L100s operated by PWA.

Pacific Western Airlines (PWA) Canada

Pacific Western Airlines was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout Western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s. It was headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia until 1975, when the head office was moved to Calgary, Alberta. PWA was well known for flying passengers across Western Canada and to Chartered Holiday destinations using primarily Boeing B737 and B707 aircraft. However, the lesser known Cargo Division of PWA made a substantial contribution to the company’s operations.

The following was written by former PWA Herc Pilot Stuart Russel.

In 1967 Pacific Western Airlines became the first commercial air carrier in Canada licensed to operate the civilian L-100 version of the Hercules C130 military cargo lifter.

Pacific Western crews flew a total of six Hercules freighters into more than 108 countries around the world. The aircraft flew over 90,000 air hours and 26 million miles and carried more than 800,000 tons of outsized cargo and bulk fuel shipments world wide.

The Hercules aircraft were flown onto fresh water and sea ice runways in the arctic, gravel, sand and unprepared surfaces in underdeveloped countries and operated in temperatures as low as minus 68F in northern Canada and plus 134F in the African deserts.

They operated the aircraft in varied locations around the globe and experienced life in strife torn areas as far away as Angola, Bangladesh, Chad, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan and Zaire, as well as such exotic locales as Amsterdam, Athens, Beijing, Cairo, Christchurch, Damascus, Darwin, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Prague, Singapore and Warsaw.

The cargo loads were as varied as the destinations and included everything from sheep and cattle to nuclear reactor parts, submarines, grapes, gold, killer whales, jet engines, oil rigs, helicopters, gasoline, diesel fuel, dynamite, relief supplies, monkeys, fish, beer, wigs and almost anything else that would fit in the cavernous cargo compartment.

The crews who flew them, maintained them, managed them and kept them busy were a unique brotherhood who shared tents on the arctic ice, dined in some of the finest night spots on the planet and enjoyed the best flying any group of aviators could ever dream of. The long hours and inclement operating conditions brought together some of the most professional individuals in the aviation industry and the best aircraft to get the job done.

The amazing capabilities of the Hercules aircraft and the ingenious efforts of the Pacific Western Hercules management and crews allowed PWA to develop a new cargo market that led to the introduction of the Boeing 707-320C International Air Freighter in 1972.

Their combined contributions put PWA on the cutting edge of heavy equipment airlift for the expanding oil and gas frontier drilling operations in Canada’s high arctic and marked their place in history as Canada’s premier heavy lift cargo carrier for many years to come.

From the moment PWA took delivery of their first new L100-10 aircraft, CF-PWO, at the Lockheed factory in Marietta, Georgia, in 1967, to the arrival of their first new L100-30 C-GHPW at the same locale in 1978, PWA developed a solid reputation for high quality, strong work ethic and proven results. Their 17 year aviation adventure spanned the globe and propelled PWA into the forefront of the global cargo industry.

The PWA crews and their dependable Hercules aircraft cut the trail for others to follow.

The memories of the aircraft, the era, the crews and their adventures will never be forgotten. In honour of Oscar PWO, Nancy PWN, X-ray PWX, Romeo PWR, Kilo PWK & “387”HPW. Rest easy old friends, clear blue skies & long white contrails behind you.

Following the original L-100 Hercules was the L-100-20 of 1968 which included a fuselage stretch for additional internal volume. The later L-100-30 version had an even further fuselage stretch.

The Inflight200 C-130 tooling is well known and appears to be shared with Aviation200 and JC Wings. This particular release does not have under wing fuel tanks as these were seldom used by the airline. My model did not have any quality control issues and the paint was excellent.

The model may be displayed gear up or gear down and a display stand is included (titles on the stand mistakenly refer to the model as a C-130J-30 instead of the correct L-100-20). The propellers spin freely and the rear cargo ramp and door opens and closes.

All in all another fine C-130 release by Inflight 200 and a worthy addition to the Canadian collection.